April Fools, Fish, Fasting, and Intercession
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AweMemento
Catholic prints and prayer cards
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“In his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom” Isaiah 40:1
Blessed Anacleto González Flores
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Sr. Elvira Mª Garro, SHM
Contributor to Home of the Mother Magazine
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The Church had been suffering persecution in Mexico ever since the country’s independence. However, the persecution intensified when Elías Plutarco Calles became President. On July 2, 1926, the “Calles Law” attacking the Church’s freedom was enforced. Its objective was to eliminate the Catholic Church.
Atrocities and assassinations began to spread. When peaceful measures were exhausted, many Mexicans offered their own lives in holocaust and took up arms to defend their faith with the cry of “Long live Christ the King! Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe!” This response was called the Cristero War. Anacleto fought in this war by using words in favor of religious freedom.
One early morning, on April 1, 1927, he was arrested. He was led to the Colorado barracks and cruelly tortured: he was hung by his thumbs and flogged, the soles of his feet were sliced with knives, and with a blow from a rifle, his torturers dislocated his shoulder. In spite of it all, Anacleto remained firm and refused to reveal the information they sought: the names of the members of the armed movement in Jalisco, and the whereabouts of the Archbishop of Guadalajara. “I do not know; and if I knew, I would not tell you,” he responded calmly.
The federals did a simulation of a “summary war council” and condemned him to death by being shot. Anacleto received the news serenely: “I will only say one thing: that I have worked selflessly to defend the cause of Jesus Christ and His Church. You may kill me, but know that this cause will not die with me.” Then, turning to General Ferreira, who had ordained his death, he stated: “General, I forgive you from my heart. Very soon we shall stand before the tribunal of God. The same Judge who will judge me will also judge you; know that you will have in me an intercessor before God.” The squad was hesitant to fire, but in the end the discharge was heard. Anacleto, still alive, managed to cry out: “I die, but God does not die. Long live Christ the King!” These were his last words.
(6 Minute Read)
"So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, 'You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.'"
– Jn 7:28-29
The benefits of fasting
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Catholic Gentleman
Manly saints, beer, dressing sharp, marriage, spiritual weapons and a lot more
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Why fasting benefits your mind as well as your body, how to start a fasting regime, the potential dangers of fasting, when you should not fast, and more!
Jesus, pulling the original April Fools' prank…
Wait, can Easter actually happen on April 1st...? It did in 2018! Read about it and the Catholic origins of April Fools' Day:
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Catholic Register
Canada's Catholic news source since 1893.
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Easter and April Fool’s on the same day may be more than coincidence. These two dates are linked for a very Christian reason.
It is hard to pin down the true origins of this international day of practical jokes, but one of the most popular theories of the origins of April Fool’s Day traces back to the Catholic Church in the 16th century.
Pope Gregory XIII instituted the Gregorian calendar in 1582 to replace the Julian calendar established by Julius Ceasar in 46 B.C. Because the Roman emperor’s old system miscalculated the solar year, Easter fell further away from the spring equinox with each passing year. The pope’s reformed calendar attempted to restore Easter to the time of year that it was celebrated when introduced by the early Church.
The transition between the calendars was not a smooth endeavour. The Gregorian calendar moved the new year from the end of March to the first of January. People who continued to celebrate in March were said to be mocked as “April fools.”
(4 Minute Read)
Reminder to send in any prayer intentions we can be praying for as a community! After all, The Harvest that prays together, stays together 🙏🍇
A.M.D.G.